AI-generated image
Arroz al horno
Arròs al forn: Valencian baked rice with chickpeas, pork ribs, morcilla and potato
Arroz al horno (arròs al forn in Valencian) is the oven rice of Valencia and Xàtiva, traditionally made the day after a big pot of cocido, using its leftover chickpeas and broth. Families once carried the clay dish to the village baker's oven; today it is baked at home in a wide, shallow earthenware cazuela. Pork ribs, morcilla (Spanish onion blood sausage), slices of potato, chickpeas and a whole head of garlic sit on top of the rice, which bakes into a dry, tender layer full of flavour. Use any ovenproof dish about 30 cm across and 5 cm deep if you don't have a cazuela. Chef's tip: have the stock at a rolling boil when you pour it in, then get the dish into the hot oven within seconds; a lukewarm start leaves the rice chalky in the middle.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 425°F (400°F fan). Bring the 3 ¼ cups chicken or meat stock (or cocido broth) to the boil with the 1 pinch saffron threads and keep it hot on a back ring.
5 minStep 2: Heat the 5 tbsp olive oil in a wide frying pan or flameproof cazuela over a medium-high heat. Brown the 14 oz pork ribs for 8–10 minutes, turning, until well coloured. Season with a little of the ⅓ tsp salt and lift out.
10 minStep 3: Brown the 2 morcilla de cebolla (Spanish blood sausage) in the same oil for 2 minutes, turning gently so it doesn't burst, then lift out. Fry the 1 waxy potato slices for 4 minutes, turning once, until lightly golden but not cooked through, and lift out.
6 minStep 4: Add the whole head of 1 head garlic and the halved tomato (from 1 ripe tomatoes) cut side down and fry for 2 minutes. Lift them out.
2 minStep 5: Add the grated tomato (the rest of 1 ripe tomatoes) to the oil and cook for 3 minutes until thick, then stir in the 1 tsp sweet pimentón (Spanish paprika) for 10 seconds. Add the 10 ½ oz short round rice (bomba, senia or paella rice) and stir for 1 minute to coat it.
4 minStep 6: Tip the rice into the ovenproof dish (or keep it in the cazuela) and spread it evenly. Scatter over the 9 oz cooked chickpeas and the ribs, then arrange the potato slices and morcilla on top, with the garlic head and tomato halves in the middle.
2 minStep 7: Taste the hot stock and add the rest of the ⅔ tsp salt if needed. Pour about 650 ml of it, boiling, evenly over the rice and put the dish straight into the oven. Common mistake: stirring the rice after the stock goes in. It turns gluey and the toppings sink.
1 minStep 8: Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the stock has been absorbed, the rice is tender and the top looks dry with a few crisp edges. Check at 15 minutes; if the rice looks dry but is still hard, add a splash of the remaining hot stock. The ribs are done when they're cooked through and tender, with no pink at the bone.
22 minStep 9: Rest the dish for 5 minutes out of the oven before serving, so the rice firms up. Squeeze the soft garlic cloves over your portion as you eat.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 780 kcal
- Protein
- 35 g
- Carbs
- 82 g
- Fat
- 33 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does arroz al horno take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of waxy potato?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
- What can I use instead of ripe tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Masala ugali
Ugali, East Africa's staple of maize meal cooked into a stiff porridge, given a lift with toasted cumin, butter, fresh coriander and green chilli. Stir it hard and keep it soft. Serve hot with sukumawiki or any stew.
Paneer biryani
A mild, creamy biryani: rice and husked green gram roasted in ghee, then cooked in coconut milk with peas, carrots, potatoes, peanuts and cashews, and finished with soft fried paneer and a fresh coriander yogurt. Serve hot, garnished with more fried cashews and paneer.
Horchata de chufa
Horchata de chufa is the drink of Valencia's summer, sold ice-cold in the city's horchaterías with long, soft fartons pastries for dipping. It is made from chufas, or tiger nuts: small wrinkled tubers grown around the village of Alboraya just north of Valencia, which have their own protected designation of origin. Soaked, ground with water, strained and sweetened, they give a creamy, nutty, naturally dairy-free milk with a hint of cinnamon. Valencians drink it very cold, or half-frozen as 'granizada'. Chef's tip: soak the tiger nuts for a full 24 hours and change the water once; they must be plump and soft enough to blend into a fine pulp, or the horchata will be thin and taste of raw starch.
